Evra to captain United at Anfield

Mark Ogden
– 12 January 2012 10:05 AM

PATRICE Evra is set to return to Liverpool later this month, for the first time since being racially abused by Luis Suarez, as Manchester United captain. He has been handed the armband until the end of the season by manager Alex Ferguson.

The acrimony that has developed between United and Liverpool since Evra accused Suarez of racial abuse following the Premier League clash at Anfield last October has intensified after an independent commission banned the Uruguayan forward for eight games last month after finding him guilty of abusing the French defender.

As a result, the FA Cup fourth-round clash between the two clubs at Anfield on January 28th or 29th has led to an acceptance on both sides that moves must be made to lower the temperature in the build-up to the tie, which Suarez will miss because of his suspension.

But while the prospect of Evra being rested for the game has been mooted outside of Old Trafford, Ferguson's decision to overlook the more experienced Ryan Giggs and Rio Ferdinand for the captaincy in the absence of the injured Nemanja Vidic suggests that no plans are in place to leave Evra on the sidelines.

Although Ferdinand donned the captain's armband against Basle last month after Vidic suffered a first-half cruciate ligament injury during the Champions League defeat, Evra has led the team out in each of United's subsequent fixtures.